Bismarck weekly tribune., 1887-09-30
ART DISSERTATIONS.
FAMOUS PAINTINGS ADAPTED TO
ADVERTISEMENTS.
Popular Pictures Multiplied by the Litls
ographers-An Artists Confession-Sa.
& A NOfahle TmnrOvame ant. 5NE g2s7t@ 'E3 GFalr,


cred Works of Art Not Even Respected.
+ A Notable Improvement. gs-5r. {as&
The pictorial advertisements which are SO
popular nowadays show variety, ingenuity
and sometimes skill in drawing and compost
tion that cause frequent inquiry as to how
and by whom they are got up. A reporter
met a man the other day who knew all about
it, and from him an explanation was OBJ
tanned. This well posted gentleman was in
troduced as can artist whose pictures are
more generally seen all over the world than
those of any other artist in America, and
whose productions are looked upon by more
people than are the pictures of any other
score Of artists" tI have seen his pictures" ="
said the gentleman who introduced the re-
porter, s'in London, Paris, Berlin and Mad
rid. lhave heard, too, on good authority,
that they have awakened the astonishment
of the sober natives of Japan and the
almond eyed Mongolians. And yet he is not
satisfied nor gratided at the fame of his
works."
ID" DISSERTATIONS OF ART. ts' ~
The artist smiled grimly. "You have been
told the truth" he said, "but one thing our
friend has neglected to mention that will
make everything clear to you. My pictures are
multiplied by the photographers. They go
everywhere, because they are given away to
encourage appreciation Of certain brands of
cigars, tobacco, porous plasters and what not.
They are admired hy the foolish-that is, the
great majority of people-because they are
bright and gaudy. They attract the atten-
tion of the wise because they are such out
rageous dissertations of art''
Zone would infer that you don't find much
satisfaction in your work, i" suggested the re-
porter.
II must confess that do not I intend to
be an artist some day, but meanwhile must
make living The photographers supply me
with the opportunity. For their money I
consent to desecrate art six or seven times q
day, and for the rest of the time, which is my
own, l worship at the shrine of art, as be-
comes ali humble suitor for success"
"Are there many some day to be artists en-
gagged in the work?"
"Quite number. Some Of course will
never get above it, because their talents are
not equal to anything better. In the case of
others it knocks all art notions completely
out of them, and they become content to be
mere pot boilers all their lives-that is, self
styled artists who have no other end in view
than to make living by painting"
THIEVES AND PIRATES.
"Why does an artist object to the workp'
because there is little or no art in the
work. He has to paint to please men who
have no conception Of art, only some notion,
often wrong one, as to what is likely to take
with the public. There are no greater thieves
and pirates in existence than we men who
paint pictures for lithographers We get hold
of Sa10n cata1oouos on1 r,hotoerro ,lo thu
lithographers do for us-copy the most strik-
ing figures, usually making some changes
suggested by the photographers OF mer-
chants, which are never improvements,
and adapt them to some soap or patent
medicine Thus some venerable saint of an
tiquity will be transformed into peddler of
plasters, an angel of mercy will be rendered
as seductive damsel, whose sole aim in life
is to sell some patent complexion beautider.
To the commercial spirit nothing is sacred.
soap manufacturer saw photograph of a
we'll known picture Of the Virgin Mother and
Child and he wanted to add basin of water
and a cake of soap and make chrome of it
to advertise his soap. That was going too
far, even for the photographer. But little
later he was outdone in audacity by porous
plaster man who wanted to take the same
picture, stick plaster on the child and get
the whole thing done in bright colors to ad-
vertise the chief product of his firm An
other man, who thought he had some talent
for allegory, wanted a beautiful picture,
Illustrative of the lines: Simply to Thy
cross cling turned into chrome to attract
attention to tonic. He proposed to in
scribe on the face of the cross the name and
price of the medicine"
"But won't the chromos in time become
more artistic?"
SYes, perhaps. There has been a notable
Improvement recently. Some time ago moth
ing would do for chrome advertisement but
sinpering girl with low cut dress. Now
that style of picture is going out of fashion,
and the damsel though she still retains the
idiotic simper, is generally decently clad.
There are some fairly good chromos used as
advertisements, the originals Of which do not
discredit the artist. But they are few. The
trouble is the advertiser is too greedy and
wants everything about the picture twisted
andsdistorted so as to fit the advertisement. ~
| New York Commercial Advertiser.
| A Small Bore Rifle.
1t will seem surprising that the special com-
mittee appointed in England to decide upon
! q new rifle for the British army should have